Don Cherry declines honorary degree from the Royal Military College of Canada

Hockey commentator and known supporter of Canada’s military Don Cherry has turned down an honorary degree from the Royal Military College of Canada, the university announced Saturday.

Mr. Cherry’s stalwart support for the members of the Canadian Forces and his entertaining personality have helped boost military morale for over two decades, said the RMCC news release, which also mentioned his work with charitable causes, including organ donor awareness and the pediatric and hospice care facility for children called the Darling Home for Kids.

“It would have been our honour and privilege for Mr. Cherry to have received an Honorary Degree from the university, in recognition of his outstanding support for our Canadian Forces personnel and for his incredible charitable work,”said Dr. Joel Sokolsky, principal of RMCC.

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Earlier this week, the RMCC came under fire from at least one faculty member for the school’s decision to openly endorse Mr. Cherry.

According to media reports, RMCC French professor Catherine Lord sent an open letter to local media this week decrying the decision.

“On many occasions he publicly expressed his contempt for many groups of the Canadian population, notably for the French-speaking Canadians, for the [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered] community and for the immigrants,” said Lord’s letter to the Kingston Whig-Standard newspaper.

“What message will RMCC send, in celebrating Don Cherry, to the students coming from these groups? And what will the Canadian people remember from RMCC, as a serious and prestigious institution?”

Mr. Cherry, host of CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, was to be one of three honorary degree recipients at RMC’s fall convocation on Nov. 17.

The other two honourees include the late retired Brig.-Gen. John (Jack) Cadieux, who is being remembered as a former RMCC teacher and Lt.-Col. John Desmond Gibson, who will receive a degree for his decades of military and volunteer service.

According to Postmedia News, Mr. Cherry was unavailable for comment Friday and his reasons for declining the degree on Saturday are not yet known.